Tithe Barn’s first ever outdoor ceremony

Bringing the Australian sunshine to Yorkshire

As if I couldn’t love this venue any more, they go and introduce the possibility of outdoor wedding ceremonies! What a time to be alive!

Tithe Barn has always been one of my favourite wedding venues, and having photographed more than 25 weddings here, it’s safe to say I know it pretty well. So when Imi and Paul got in touch last year to tell me their plans for an outdoor ceremony, I was VERY excited at the prospect.

Imi & Paul live in sunny Australia and were heading over to Yorkshire to celebrate their wedding with their family and friends, who had travelled from all corners of the world. Knowing how predictably unpredictable the Great British weather can be, there was certainly a part of me that thought the outdoor ceremony might not be able to go ahead. Even with an August wedding, there’s never any certainty when it comes to sunshine, but thankfully the weather gods were on our side.

Not only were Imi & Paul blessed with a dry day, but it turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year! They had certainly brought the Australian sunshine over with them!

Making the most of the Yorkshire countryside

All the guests gathered round to watch Imi walk down the aisle with her dad. It was also lovely to see that not all the guests were seated, as is tradition is Australia for only the couples’ closest family to have seats during the ceremony.

I remember this as being such a special ceremony because not only were we treated to glorious views over Bolton Abbey and the Yorkshire countryside, but with Paul also being a wedding celebrant, they really went the extra mile to ensure the vows and readings were uniquely personal to them. There was so much emotion in what was said, most of the guests were in tears at one point or another. It was such a perfect reflection of the wedding day – personal, special, down-to-earth and nothing overbearingly formal. It was all done their way and it was beautiful.

After enjoying a gorgeous meal, we headed down to the Bolton Abbey estate with Imi & Paul squeezed into my little Fiat 500! We were blessed with the most beautiful golden hour, and some of the guests even made the journey down too as Imi & Paul wanted them to experience the Yorkshire surroundings.

Across the stepping stones and back to Tithe Barn

We weren’t quite ready to head back to Tithe Barn just yet as Imi and Paul wanted to walk across Bolton Abbey’s iconic stepping stones! If you’ve ever attempted the stones yourself, you’ll know it can be a little sketchy at times… never mind in a wedding dress! I was astounded that they actually managed it without either of them falling in!

We soon headed back up to Tithe Barn where everyone was treated to a sweet treat from the Yorkshire ice cream van! The after a gorgeous joint speech from Imi and Paul, the dancefloor burst into life with a ceilidh and the dancing didn’t stop for the rest of the evening.

Imi & Paul really did an amazing job of doing their wedding in their way. Not sticking with tradition for the sake of it, and with their priorities totally in the right place. They weren’t fussed for tiny details, they wanted their friends and family to have the most amazing time and you could tell that everyone did.